Do you use a king pin lock?

[KTM Guy]

I've been reading some chilling stories on the internet about camper trailer theft. Here's a particularly nasty one on RV2: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f50/well-its-gone-27362.html.

My friend who's a manager at a freight company says they just got a TSA order requiring them to lock the king pins of all unattended trailers.

I always locked the hitch on my inexpensive travel trailer with an inexpensive hitch lock. Now that I'm about to pick up my very expensive (to me) Excel, I'm wondering about a lock. I'll store the trailer in a secured RV lot, but when we're using it we'll be mostly in primitive campsites and sometimes in RV parks.

Are king pin locks the norm? Do most people use the padlock-through-a-pipe type or an integral key type? There's a really great conical ductile-iron lock for ONLY $450 plus shipping at Universal Boot. What do you guys do?

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTM Guy Are king pin locks the norm? Do most people use the padlock-through-a-pipe type or an integral key type? There's a really great conical ductile-iron lock for ONLY $450 plus shipping at Universal Boot. What do you guys do?

KTM Guy, While I owned my "Fiver" I used a padlock on a BAL King Pin stabilizer. It worked just fine.

[NLOVNIT]

We had a king pin lock on our previous 5-r (see below). At the very least, it would send a would-be thief over to another that didn't have one rather than take the time to cut the bolt on the one we used.

Lori-

[MakinSmoke]

We've been out here wandering almost 4 years and don't have a kingpin lock. I figured that anyone who went to all the trouble to breakin and run in my slides, etc could beat my lock. But, it sure won't hurt.

[Workshop]

I use an integral key type pin lock on my unit. When it is parked at home it is always on and locked. When we are camping...most of the time it is installed out of habit.

Figure if someone wants something bad enough they will either take it, try and fail or look for something easier. I rather make it as hard as possible.

[BookIIRoadtrash]

I never worry about that kind of thing in a camp ground, I might consider using one of I ever had the occasion to leave my rig in a truck stop.

[Bruce and Jenna]

I park head in, don't unhitch, and never leave my trailer. But then I'm the cautious type.

In three years of FT RV camping, I have only seen one hitch lock in a campground. I would worry more about storage or very rural camping.

And worry more about breaking and entry. Which you cannot prevent, other than using a noisy alarm in an occupied commercial campground.

[LindaH]

We don't use a hitch lock during the normal course of traveling, but we do have one that we used when we put the fifth wheel in storage this past summer to travel in our truck camper.

[Still Working "NOT"]

I use a 3/8" grade 70 chain. Just a few links of chain and a padlock. I don't use it much as it has not been a problem so far. I'm not to worried in the rural parts of America as most of those folks still morals.

[CaptPat]

I used a BAL lock from Camping World, it has a star shaped key, when the 5er was unattended and in unsecured storage. I never worried too much about it when it was stored in locked storage. The lock was also used to secure the BAL hitch stabilizer.

[rockintom]

I have a pin lock, but don't use it as a regular habit....but I would, if we stored it. Seems like that is where the most thefts and break in occur as the thief has more time to deal with things. rockin'

[ChiefJohn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce and Jenna I park head in, don't unhitch, and never leave my trailer. But then I'm the cautious type. In three years of FT RV camping, I have only seen one hitch lock in a campground. I would worry more about storage or very rural camping. And worry more about breaking and entry. Which you cannot prevent, other than using a noisy alarm in an occupied commercial campground.

Ditto Bruce -- I'm was more concerned about the generic locks on the storage compartments than I was about the king-pin. We pirchased a small utility trailer and the key for the rear door was the same key that is provided to most RV'ers.

[KU9L]

We use a lock on our gooseneck adapter, it would take a serious torch job if we ever lost the key!

[evan0810]

I use a pin lock because our Excel is at a storage facility most of the time. I worry just as much about someone just breaking a window to get in and steal electronics. The dealers around Indy have a problem w/ people doing just that. If I had a reason to take mine to the dealer, I would take it when they were able to start work and pick it up asap.
Ed